Jack Miller avoids social media: 'It’s better to turn that crap off'

Following the Qatar controversy, where he collided with reigning MotoGP champion Joan Mir on entry to the main straight, Jack Miller said he turned off his social media to focus on what is important ahead of this weekend's Portimao round.

Already arriving in Portugal less than fully fit due to a recent arm pump operation, the Australian explained that he didn't want to waste any energy on unnecessary distractions.

"I turned off the social media," Miller said. "I have a thing to post [for me]. I'm just trying to be as calm as possible and do my job which, at the end of the day, is what I love, riding motorcycles. I'll try to do the best I can. If at the end of the day I’m not good enough, I’m not good enough. It’s that simple. But I’m just trying to do the best job I can do."

Miller said it had been his own decision to steer clear of social media for a while.

"Just me, myself and I!" he said. "I don’t need to see a psychologist to [tell me]. I’m honest enough with myself that when it builds you up, it makes you feel really happy but then it makes you crash back down.

"Then also reading 1,000 negative comments isn’t going to do my mental well-being any good. It’s better to turn that crap off and focus on what is important.

"That’s me getting myself right, doing my job right, preparing myself for the weekend and trying to understand, instead of wasting energy on things that I cannot change – which is people on the internet, putting things which doesn’t really matter.

"These things get to people. It gets to you. I think it’s better to focus on what is important."

Miller added that he expects to speak with Mir sometime during the weekend

"I don’t have his number but I’m sure I’ll catch up with him over the weekend. And we can discuss, hear each other’s side of the story," he said. "Apart from that everything else is good. And just excited to start riding the factory Ducati at a new circuit."

But Miller, who finished ninth during both Qatar races, won't know the condition of his healing right arm until he takes to the track tomorrow.

"It feels good. I was really lucky with doctors there in Dexeus in Barcelona to look after me like they did and to squeeze me in so quickly even though it was Easter," said Miller, who edged out Franco Morbidelli to snatch second place during his final ride for Pramac Ducati at Portimao last November.

"The recovery was really quick. Straight out of hospital on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon I was able to start cycling on the static bike inside. On Thursday I was able to start cycling outside.

"Feeling fit and ready to go but I won’t know how is the arm until I put it through the biggest test which is riding a MotoGP bike but my understanding and my feeling is it shouldn’t be an issue.

"It was something I had to do," Miller added. "In testing when we don’t ride all winter, my arms shrink. You see a lot of guys get smaller around the shoulders. As soon as we start to ride, muscles grow.

"During testing my arms were loose in the suits. By the race I had to ask them to stretch the suit out. The muscle has grown. When we did scans, we saw quite clearly where the pressure was.

"When they put the knife in, the muscle exploded out of the sleeve. I have some fantastic photos of what we know was the problem inside the arm. Unfortunately I can’t really share them."

Mir: Race Direction wrong to leave Miller move unpunished

Two weeks on from their clash in Qatar, reigning MotoGP champion Mir remains convinced that Race Direction should have punished Miller.

The pair collided as they accelerated out of the final corner after Mir ran slightly wide and Miller straight-lined the exit.

Both kept control of their bikes, but with the Australian looking across just before making contact, and Mir having bumped Miller wide during a pass earlier on the same lap, the Suzuki rider was sure it had been intentional.

Before the grand prix finished, Race Direction announced that no further action would be taken and Suzuki ultimately decided not to appeal the decision.

However, at Portimao on Thursday, Mir made clear he believes it was a mistake and is curious to see what happens if the same kind of incident occurs in the future.

"Suzuki went to Race Direction without any success and there was not much to do. The decision was already taken. Race Direction [FIM Stewards] saw the action as legal. It is not [an opinion] I share," Mir said.

"I thought it was outside of the limit, but I respect the decision and I know what Race Direction think about it and also Jack.

"For me it is clear. It is out of legality for sure, because you can see Jack is looking to me and then he just…. touched me. Let’s see if it happens in the future – this same action – and it gets penalised. I think they will do it, but I don’t know."

Mir added: "I think it can be dangerous also in the future if it happens to other people and that they [FIM Stewards] have to penalise these types of actions because it's dangerous, it's in the straight, it's intentional.

"But anyway, it is better to think about this weekend and forget about that. For sure I will not do this action to another rival. It is something I will not do."

'Lately the fights in the pack have been really really tough'

Asked about the aggression seen in the previous MotoGP race and if the FIM Stewards had been somewhat lenient in not punishing any of the moves, Franco Morbidelli replied:

"Difficult question. MotoGP is tough. MotoGP is dangerous. And it's different compared to any other kind of motorsport that we can watch on TV, and what makes it different is also the great great fight that you can see between the riders.

"It's the duty of the Stewards Panel to control the fight between the riders, it's not my duty, but I can say that lately the fights in the pack have been really really tough, really really tough. That's what I can say."